Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a pattern of abuse - emotional, physical or sexual - used by one person against another in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence can occur in any relationship to anyone.

If you fear for your life or are in immediate danger, dial 911 now.

The Arvada Police Department Victim Services Unit is able to provide you with emotional support, resources and information about domestic violence. Please call 720-898-6740 to reach Victim Services.

Domestic violence is one of the most requested calls for police service. It can also be one of the most difficult to assess. When officers arrive at the scene, it may be difficult to know who is telling the truth, especially if there are no obvious injuries, or if both parties have injuries. Parties may be intoxicated, further complicating the officer's ability to assess the incident. If injuries are obvious and officers, through their investigation, can determine who is the perpetrator, then the officers will make an arrest.

Police officers can only arrest for physical and/or sexual abuse. Emotional abuse must contain a threat of physical violence for it to be a crime. If the perpetrator is demeaning the victim by name-calling or other shaming accusations, but does not contain a threat of violence, it is not against the law.

Escalation of Abuse

Domestic violence can be cyclical. The abuse generally escalates in the following order. Steps 5-9 often indicate past abuse, even if there was no prior police contact. Verbal and emotional abuse is always present and sexual abuse is common.

Throwing things, punching walls

Pushing, shoving, grabbing, throwing things at the victim

Slapping with an open hand

Kicking or biting

Hitting with a closed fist

Pinning victim to the floor or wall, repeated kicks or punches

Attempted strangulation

Threatening with a weapon

Assault with a weapon

The Arvada Police Department addresses domestic violence crime at the root level by using a multifaceted approach. This approach addresses the crime of domestic violence in all of its elements, including

how officers respond to the incident and deal with each domestic call,

the interaction between victims and advocates of Victim Outreach Information,

JavaScript Notes

The following descriptions of tools and resources is intended to help demonstrate how and why
JavaScript is used on this website.
Even though you do not have JavaScript enabled, you should still be able to access all information
contained on this site. To report difficulty accessing
information, or to report any issues using assistive technologies, please call 720.898.7886 or
e-mail webmaster@arvada.org

Libraries and Scripts

jQuery is a JavaScript library that allows you to take advantage of many features on this site. For more information, please see jquery.com.Modernizr helps older browsers to render modern web content well. For more information, please see modernizr.comTwitter Bootstrap is a responsive HTML, CSS, and Javascript framework. It helps this site to work well across computing environments. For more information, please see GetBootstrap.com.Jasny is an extension for Twitter Bootstrap. This site uses it for making tables and other componenets more interactive. For more information, please see Jasny.GitHub.IO.Bootstrap Accessibility by PayPal allows us to make this site more accessible for screen readers. To find out more, please visit PayPal.GitHub.IO. The main navigation on this site is a "mega menu". This script helps to ensure that the menu works well for all visitors. A CSS-only (Javascript-free) alternative is available.This script is intended to help make scrolling smooth. It is not necessary for browsing the site.A responsive menu is enabled with this script. It is not necessary for browsing the site.DataTables is a rich plugin for jQuery that makes it easy to enhance the display and use of tables. This site uses DataTables to make the Department Directory easily searchable and sortable. For more information, please see DataTables.net.This script is a plugin for DataTables.jCloud is used to make "tags" on pages more aesthetically pleasing. For more information on jCloud, Copyright 2011 by Luca Ongaro, please visit GitHub.com.This script is used to make drop-down menus more aesthetically pleasing. For more information, please see https://developer.snapappointments.com/bootstrap-select/.Lighter, copyright 2010-2015 by Kevin Sylvestre, is a lightweight tool that allows this site to present images in a modal or "pop-up" fashion. To see this script, visit http://ksylvest.github.io/jquery-lighter/.Lighter, copyright 2010-2015 by Kevin Sylvestre, is a lightweight tool that allows this site to present images in a modal or "pop-up" fashion. To see this script, visit http://ksylvest.github.io/jquery-lighter/.All business applications have special functionality. This script helps the applications to be easier to use.Auto complete on search.

Arvada.org works best with JavaScript enabled. For help enabling JavaScript, please visit
http://enable-javascript.com/.
Some features on this website may not work as intended without JavaScript.The City of Arvada uses Piwik to gather analytics on website use. No personal information is collected
during this process.